Asians face deportation
28 July 2010, 15:02
By Lavern De Vries
Crime Writer
At least 10 Asian women are being detained at Cape Town Central police station until the Department of Home Affairs makes a decision on whether to deport them.
The women, aged between 22 and 38, were arrested last Wednesday, police spokesman Captain Ezra October said.
Although he was not able to say exactly where the women were arrested, he said they were arrested for contravening the Immigration Act.
"We suspect that there is some sort of human trafficking element involved, but the women have remained mum on how they came into the country and why," he explained.
It is believed that the women were arrested at a bed-and-breakfast in the northern suburbs, believed to be a front for a brothel.
October said the women would be held until their next court appearance, on August 18, during which time police would try to complete the investigation.
The department's Immigration Unit was pivotal in the arrest, said October.
Police can't formulate appropriate charges against suspected human traffickers as the country does not have any laws against human trafficking.
Crime Writer
At least 10 Asian women are being detained at Cape Town Central police station until the Department of Home Affairs makes a decision on whether to deport them.
The women, aged between 22 and 38, were arrested last Wednesday, police spokesman Captain Ezra October said.
Although he was not able to say exactly where the women were arrested, he said they were arrested for contravening the Immigration Act.
"We suspect that there is some sort of human trafficking element involved, but the women have remained mum on how they came into the country and why," he explained.
It is believed that the women were arrested at a bed-and-breakfast in the northern suburbs, believed to be a front for a brothel.
October said the women would be held until their next court appearance, on August 18, during which time police would try to complete the investigation.
The department's Immigration Unit was pivotal in the arrest, said October.
Police can't formulate appropriate charges against suspected human traffickers as the country does not have any laws against human trafficking.
- This article was originally published on page 6 of The Cape Argus on July 28, 2010
Cape Town
